Pasatiempo

Hola!

Last night the old ladies decided to leave the retirement community and enjoy some of Tamarindo's nightlife. Don't get too excited...we were in by midnight, but we went to Pasatiempo Hotel and listened to a band play some famous rock n' roll songs. The bongo player was especially expressive and everytime he played his bongos we couldn't help but laugh. See the picture of his face above.

Before going to Pasatiempo we went out to dinner at Bruno's which is located in one of the only tall buildings in Tamarindo. They had wonderful pizza and the best view in the city. The sun set in like five minutes and we sat there sipping boat drinkings and watching the beautiful scenary. Today we had another day of class, but Alysia's didn't go so well. Her private tutor this week doesn't say much and apparently grades papers while she talks to Alysia. Alysia was mucho frustrated to say the least.

Tomorrow is our last day of class. They are having a pancake breakfast for us, which I am looking forward to. And, Alysia is going to Playa Langosta up the street from our school with some friends. I am going to hang around and go to my class and join up with them later.

The count down has begun for returning home. We miss you all so much and can't wait to see you in 3.5 days!!

xoxox

Annie

Playa Conchal

Hola!

Yesterday Alysia and I went to Playa Conchal with some friends from school. It is so beautiful and clean. The beach nearest our school is mirkier so it was great to see the clear waters of the Pacific Ocean and the white sandy beach. We all got lots of sun, but by 12 pm is was raining (of course)! Luckily, we found a plot on the beach right in front of a gorgeous hotel. So, when it rained we ran over to the nice hotel and had a wonderful lunch and cocktails. After lunch the rain stopped and some of my friends snuck into the beautiful pool at the hotel and I snuck into the showers for a warm, clean shower. Our bus picked us up at 3pm right after the tide came in so we had to walk through this really yucky, trashy, brown water. It totally ruined my shower!!! I am such a princess (we all know that though and my Mother likes to remind me). I get it from her;-)

Today, we started our second week of class. We only have three more days left, but so much more to learn. We'll have to practice a lot when we return. I have new teachers and am learning new information every day. Alysia is too, but she is more advanced than I am so she will be my teacher when we get home. I also was able to wash clothes today so I am feeling a little cleaner and recharged. I never realized how much I love clean clothes. Alysia and I also had to pay our departure tax today. Yes, you do have to pay $26 to leave Costa Rica. Funny, huh? Our roommate Emma made us dinner tonight and it was really delicious. We have tons left so we will eat it for lunch tomorrow, too. Don't worry parents we're eating a lot!! But not as many veggies as we would like.

Hopefully, I'll have more to write tomorrow but I have to go to bed because we think we're old ladies and can't keep up with the college students partying next door. Hopefully, we can sleep without having to call the Costa Rican police (joke). 

Hasta luego! 

xoxox

Annie

Rincan de la Vieja

Wow!

Today was a fun filled day. It is 9:30 p.m. Costa Rican time and I am beat. We woke up an hour earlier than we usually do and drove 2 hours away to Rincan de la Vieja for a day of swinging through trees, riding rapids, riding donkeys, and swimming in mud baths. Ok, so I skipped the mud and watch the others because I already feel dirty enough already but the other stuff was fun!

At first, I was really nervous about being so high in the trees but I just let go and did it. It was so beautiful and quite a rush! However, as soon as I got used to the zip line the people guiding the canopy tour hooked us to a line and dropped us upside down about 25 feet from a platform. If you don't understand what I mean I am saying I was hanging upside down (as in, inverted) and was quickly lowered to the scary depths below me. Yes, I screamed and then the tour guide screamed in my face to mock me when I landed on solid ground (thank you lord!). Next, we scaled the side of the a canyon and zipped over to the next platform. We were with 2 families with very young children (10 and younger). This was the point when all of the little ones were petrified and in tears. I felt so awful for them. 

Next, we ate lunch. Lunch in Costa Rica is the biggest meal of the day. In my world it is the smallest meal of the day so I can never eat that much, but I ate a plate full of spaghetti. Yes, there is a lot of italian food here. Surprisingly, there are many Italians in Costa Rica. Everyone ate quickly so we could keep moving because there was lots to do!

After lunch, we changed into our swimsuits and headed for the rapids. I expected the river to be calm much like the James or Potomac but smaller. I thought it would be a casual day of winding down the river while taking in the beautiful scenery all around us. I was wrong. We were giving a life jacket, an inner tube, and a helmet. There were 14 rapids and the got rougher as we moved down the river. Many people got tossed and lost their inner tubes. I think even Alysia went over once or twice. I managed to stay up, but there were a few very close calls and scary moments. The rapids were by far my favorite part of the day. I don't think there is anything like it in the States. At the end of the river we hiked back to the bus (they brought us to and from the river in a yellow school bus). On the trail back to the bus there was a very small, but very deadly snake in the middle of the path. I immediately thought of my sister, Leigh, who is petrified of snakes and was glad she wasn't there because she would have completely freaked out. I quickly walked around it hoping not to provoke it in any way. 

After the rapids we were taken to the horses. I thought they looked more like donkeys or mules. They were very small horses (no, they weren't mini horses) but they looked funny. We took the horses on a very bumpy and muddy road to a beautiful waterfall where a few of the people in my group jumped from a cliff into another part of the river. I'm not big on falling from a high place so I stayed off to the side and watched with my camera in hand. We weren't there for very long because everyone wanted to keep moving so we didn't miss anything. Once we got back on the horses all of our horses started to pee. I don't think I've ever seen a horse pee before. It was ridiculous!

After our butts were completely sore from the saddles they took us off to the last stop of the day - the mud baths. I am not into getting dirty for fun, so I watched. Sure, a mud bath at a really nice spa would be fun and therapeutic, but this didn't look the same to me. Instead it looked like a bubbling vat of mirky water. It was fun to watch everyone get dirty and, again, I took lots of pictures.

All in all it was a terrific day and a great experience. The highlight was definitely the tubing. Although, the zip lining was a close second. I've uploaded all of the pictures from our trip on Picasa so go check out the link from my previous posts. For those of you interested in seeing the video of me falling - send me a post and I'll e-mail you the video.

Tomorrow we are off to Playa Conchal. It's a beautiful beach not far from here with crystal clear water and white sand. I'll take more pictures and update you on that tomorrow. For now, take care and buenos noches!

xoxoxo

Annie

La Fiesta!

Hola,

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but some friends and I decided to try out the nightlife in Tamarindo. There were five girls (me, Alysia, Raquel, Emma, and Nicole) and two boys (Hans and Dimitri). Raquel is originally from Trinidad and she is now living in Atlanta. Emma is our Dutch roommate. Nicole is from Taiwan and now lives in New York and goes to Columbia University. Hans is from Holland, too and works for Philips electronics. Dimitri is originally from the Ukraine and now lives in New York. First, we went to Nougi's Bar for dinner. The girls had fish tacos and wonderful banana and coconut pie. The boys ate much bigger meals with meat and veggies. It was muy delicioso! During dinner we saw some locals juggling fire. We were afraid they were going to light themselves on fire, but it was really fun to watch! Then, we went to Babylon - a reggae bar down the street. It was pretty empty when we got there but still a lot of fun. I thought there would be live music, but it was just a DJ. We danced for a while and then Alysia, Emma, and I called it a night. We are the old ladies in the group. That's about all the nightlife we can handle. The other girls stayed out much later and danced the night away. 

Tomorrow we go to Rincon to horseback ride, ride rapids, play in waterfalls, and swing through the trees. I am taking a disposable camera so I may or may not have pictures to show you. Regardless, stay tuned for another update soon.

xoxox

Anne

La Escuela

Buenas Noches,

Today was another tireless day of speaking Spanish. It is getting a little easier with fewer blank stares, but everyday I have learned a lot of vocabulary...retaining it is very difficult. See a picture from our school inset. This is a picture of the main lobby where students hang out between classes to check their Internet and mingle with the other students.

We've met a lot of new students over the past few days. There are several students from the Maryland/DC area ranging in age from 20 to 30. There are a couple of students from The Netherlands, including our roommate Emma and a young man named Hans who is in my class. A lot of students are from California. Since this is a hot spot for surfers, there is a crowd of students here that look like they flew here straight from Laguna Beach. It is not hard to strike up a conversation with anyone and it has been so interesting learning about the different cultures. Everyone has taken some time to adjust to life here. It is very laid back and totally different from the States. I just learned today that Gouda cheese gets it's name from a place in The Netherlands that is famous for its production. Gouda is actually pronounced howda. Who knew that!

Tomorrow I have more class and Alysia and I were enrolled in a cooking class but we've opted not to go. Instead we are going with a group of girls to a restaurant highly recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book. We'll try to take the cooking class next week. Also, this weekend we are going to Ricon, which is a short drive from here. There we will horseback ride, ride on a zip line, go tubing in rapids, and experience a mud bath. It should be a fun day!

More later, but until then Hasta Luego!

xoxox

Anne

Cansada y Casada/ Tired and Married

Hola!

Classes have been very overwhelming. I've practiced a lot of vocabulary and the differences between Ser (to be) and Estar (to be) and I am having trouble retaining all of the information. For instance (por ejemplo), I keep saying, "Yo soy casada" when I mean to say "Yo estoy cansada". So, I've been telling everyone I am married when I mean to say I am tired.  So, I'll sigh when I say I'm married (meaning to say I am tired) to express my exhaustion and it ends up sounding like I don't like being married! Not true!!(I love you Chip!). 

We get an hour for lunch each day, so during that hour Alysia and I practiced our Spanish on the beach. It was beautiful today and there was no rain. After class we hung out with some other students and talked about classes, practiced our Spanish, and discussed the cheapest ways to call home. We determined that Skype is the way to go and I am so relieved I decided to bring my computer. A lot of students opted to leave their computers at home and are now borrowing computers from others. I can call people on their land lines or cell phones using Skype for less than $.03/minute. I can talk to people who do have Skype for free!! It's been great. Calling on my cell phone would cost $2.99/minute. 

This evening we walked through town with our roommate Emma who is from Holland. She is very nice and is here by herself so it has been nice to hang out with her and make a new friend. We all pitched in and bought pasta, tomato sauce (that tasted more like tomato paste), and a loaf of delicious freshly baked bread from the local supermarket. It cost about 4,000 colones, which is approximately $8 in US dollars. So, we're learning how to be conservative with our money down here. We plan to eat a nicer meal out in town later this week. There is a variety of options in town, including a TCBY and a Subway! Those are the only non-Costa Rican places, though. 

I've got to go study...there is so much vocabulary to cram into my brain!! I have actually automatically started saying "si" instead of "yes" now. I am hoping that since I've mastered "si" that other words will start becoming more natural soon, too. Please cross your fingers.

I don't have too many pictures uploaded yet, but you can check out this link for the pictures I have so far: http://picasaweb.google.com/annehogge/CostaRica2008?authkey=X0eUQdmT6BE

Hasta Luego! 

Feliz Cumpleanos

Today is my 27th birthday and I am in Costa Rica. It's a great place to celebrate your birthday. Although, estoy mal (I am not well). I still have a cold that I was trying to recover from before leaving the States. Thanks to all of you for your e-mails and posts -- Muchos gracias!!

Well, yesterday Alysia and I flew into Liberia. It's a beautiful country. It's very humid and Tamarindo, the beach where I am staying is very rural. The roads are sandy so when it rains (which it does every afternoon) it becomes a huge mud pit. It took us 45 minutes to get to the school and as soon as we arrived we were tested on our Spanish. I was placed in the class for beginners. Alysia is in a class just a few lessons ahead. Today was our first day of classes and we took 6 hours a day. The first four hours was in a small class. The last two hours were one-on-one with a private tutor. That was very overwhelming!! The teachers don't speak very good English so there were a few blank stares exchanged during the hour, but it seems to be working out well. I am truly understanding what it must feel like to be an esl student or an immigrant in another country. Tengo mucho simpatico (I have much sympathy...I think that is how you say it). 

Our living quarters are very basic. We were given a bed with a top sheet and a fitted sheet. It is so humid here you don't need much more than that...unless you're Alysia. She gets very cold and slept with two shirts last night.  You can't flush any toilet paper down the toilet. We have to put it in the trash can next to the toilet (yeah, that's a little gross), but fortunately we have a maid to take out the trash everyday. 

We met all of the other new students tonight at a new student cocktail party. There are a lot of teachers and a lot of surfers. Apparently, we picked the party location. We are feeling kind of old because we go to bed a little earlier than the hippy partying crowd. They are all very interesting. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue on our Costa Rican adventure. 

PS: I am going to upload my photos to picasa soon and will place a link in future posts for you to see photos from our trip. The blog only allows me to upload one photo at a time or else I'd place more here.